October 26, 2007	Friday	Shawwal 13, 1428

LONDON, Oct 25: Gold advanced on Thursday to trade near a 28-year high, as strong oil prices and a weaker dollar attracted speculators and investors.

But traders remained cautious ahead of next week’s US Federal Reserve meeting as experts believe that a slowing US economy would prompt the central bank to cut interest rates — a negative factor for the dollar and often good for gold prices.

Investors will look to US new home sales data, durable goods orders and weekly jobless claims later in the day to gauge how deep the malaise is from a crumbling housing market.

Spot gold was quoted at $765.00/ 765.80 an ounce, compared with $761.20/ 762.00 late in New York and last week’s 28-year high of $770.—Reuters